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Guest column: Applauds House, Senate support for Manhattan Project park

May 2, 2013 By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns Leave a Comment

Editor’s note: National Parks supporters last week applauded the unanimous approval by a House committee of a bill to set up a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that would include Oak Ridge. Here are statements from two supporters.

Ron Tipton, senior vice president of policy for the National Parks Conservation Association

The National Parks Conservation Association applauds the bipartisan House and Senate support for preserving of our country’s history, through the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act. Today’s announcement provides another positive step forward, as the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the bipartisan bill introduced by Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, Congressman Ben Lujan, and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann.

These national park sites will provide unparalleled opportunities to improve public understanding of the Manhattan Project, the legacy of the United States’ splitting of the atom, and the national and global impacts associated with harnessing the atom. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Columns Tagged With: Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association, Clarence Moriwaki, Hanford, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act, national park, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks Conservation Association, Oak Ridge, Ron Tipton, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. House, U.S. Senate

Mayor to testify to Congress: Manhattan Project park would honor most significant event of last century

April 12, 2013 By John Huotari 1 Comment

Tom Beehan

A new national historical park that could include Oak Ridge would honor the history of the Manhattan Project, the most significant event of the 20th Century, Mayor Tom Beehan will tell a U.S. House subcommittee in testimony this morning.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret U.S. program to build the world’s first atomic weapons. The three Manhattan Project sites that could be included in the new park are Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash.

Despite what some detractors might say, the proposed park is not about weapons, Beehan wrote in prepared testimony.

“I believe this historical park is about scientific and engineering accomplishments at a time when our country was defending itself, both during World War II and the Cold War,” he said. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: atomic weapons, B Reactor, Chuck Fleischmann, Energy Communities Alliance, Graphite Reactor, Gun Site, Hanford, House Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation, Lamar Alexander, legislation, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, National Park Service, New Hope Center, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Secret City, testimony, Tom Beehan, U.S. House, V Site, Y-12 National Security Complex

Energy Communities Alliance supports Manhattan Project park bill

March 12, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Tom Beehan

A group of local governments associated with U.S. Department of Energy sites has reaffirmed its support for a Manhattan Project national park.

Proposed through legislation in the U.S. Congress, the park would commemorate the Manhattan Project, the top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. The park would include Oak Ridge; Los Alamos, N.M.; and Hanford, Wash.

“We are thrilled to see this step toward making the new national park a reality,” said Steve Young, secretary of the nonprofit Energy Communities Alliance and mayor of Kennewick, Wash. “There’s no question that the story of the Manhattan Project and the contributions of the men and women who supported it are of high interest to the American public. This creates a real opportunity for our communities to share our collective history while realizing the benefits of the heritage tourism industry a national park is likely to create.”

Fleischmann votes for ‘No Budget, No Pay’; Corker co-sponsors

January 23, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Chuck Fleischmann

Bob Corker

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann voted for a bill that passed the House on Wednesday that temporarily increases the nation’s debt ceiling and requires each house of Congress to pass a budget.

Known as the “No Budget, No Pay” Act, the bill would withhold pay for legislative members if they fail to pass a budget.

“Not having a budget wouldn’t fly for hardworking Americans at home or at work, and it shouldn’t be allowed in Congress,” said Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge. “We cannot ever truly constrain spending if the Senate will not pass a budget. With the passage of this bill, the Senate Democrats will finally be obligated to produce a path to get our fiscal house in order.”

House also passes ‘fiscal cliff’ deal, but Tennessee representatives oppose it

January 1, 2013 By John Huotari 4 Comments

Chuck Fleischmann

Less than 24 hours after the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved it, the U.S. House passed legislation late Tuesday night to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff,” but seven Tennessee Republicans and one Democrat opposed it.

The bill, which now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature, averts income tax increases for most Americans and temporarily delays large across-the-board spending cuts to defense and domestic programs.

However, the Associated Press reported most Americans will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013 because the legislation did not renew a temporary 2 percent cut in the payroll tax. That reduction was worth about $1,000 to a worker making $50,000 a year.

U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both Tennessee Republicans, voted for the bill in the Senate, where it passed 89-8 early Tuesday morning. Alexander and Corker said the legislation, reached after weeks of negotiations between the White House and Congress, “rescues” 99 percent of Americans from a tax rate increase.

But all seven Tennessee Republicans in the U.S. House, including Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, voted against it. The vote in the House was 257-167.

Alexander, Corker vote for ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

January 1, 2013 By John Huotari 4 Comments

Lamar Alexander

Bob Corker

U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker voted in favor of a “fiscal cliff” deal early Tuesday morning that would allow tax rates to rise only for wealthy Americans while temporarily suspending sweeping federal spending cuts.

The deal was approved 89-8 in the U.S. Senate but still has to be passed by the House. Approval there is not guaranteed.

The agreement would raise tax rates for individuals who earn more than $400,000 and couples with incomes of more than $450,000. It would also extend unemployment insurance for another year and temporarily delay $110 billion in across-the-board spending cuts to military and domestic programs.

Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, released a statement after the 1:39 a.m. vote early Tuesday, New Year’s Day. The vote could help the nation avert the so-called “fiscal cliff,” a package of automatic across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to start going into effect this month.

House majority supports Manhattan Project park, but two-thirds required

September 20, 2012 By John Huotari 3 Comments

Note: This story was updated at 9:10 p.m.

A majority of U.S. House members voted for a bill Thursday to set up a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that would include Oak Ridge, but the vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the legislation under special rules.

The vote on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act was 237-180, about 50 votes short of a two-thirds supermajority, said Cindy Kelly, president of the nonprofit Atomic Heritage Foundation.

Though it didn’t pass Thursday in a maneuver that could have quickly sent the bill to the Senate, supporters said the bill has bipartisan support. They remained optimistic that it could still be approved soon.

“We’ve shown there is support for this park and will be working towards the goal of enacting this into law before the end of this year,” said U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, a Washington Republican who has championed the legislation to recognize Manhattan Project sites in Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

U.S. House subcommittee grills federal officials on Y-12 security breach

September 12, 2012 By John Huotari 4 Comments

During a Wednesday hearing, a House subcommittee questioned federal officials about a July 28 intrusion into a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex by the three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

Members of a U.S. House subcommittee grilled federal officials during a Wednesday morning hearing on the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, calling it “appalling” and an “all-out failure,” and asking who had been fired and who was responsible for various problems—such as security cameras that didn’t work.

Some of the harshest criticism came from U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican who represents the 7th District in middle and west Tennessee.

She cited a Washington Post report published online on Tuesday that said government investigators had warned of lax security at the site in classified reports nearly two years ago. Among the issues identified then were security cameras that didn’t operate, sloppy equipment maintenance, and poorly trained guards, the Post reported.